God is Sovereign

Exodus 1-15 is all about God's Sovereignty. Do you believe God is control? If not read Exodus 1-15. Some people try to explain it away which is dangerous theologically. Why would God harden someone's heart? God has a plan and who am I to question it? If he wants to harden a heart why can't he to accomplish his purposes? He wanted to bring Egypt to their knees as well as build trust and faithfulness in the Israelites. Who are we to question that? It may seem difficult whatever situation we find ourselves but we have to trust that God is in control and His plan is greater than ours. We must be faithful to that.

I loved how God spoke to Moses when he was at his weakest and God moved through a burning bush in a powerful way. So many times God speaks clearly to me and I question it. This story is confirmation to never question God as He is in control.

The workout today was good for the soul. Feel like I'm in a good rythmn.

Day 4 of 90

I'm excited to do this 90 day challenge. Today I will be doing some yoga. Looking forward to seeing how that goes. I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately. Today I read the last 10 chapters of Genesis.

It was about how God spared Jacob and his family from the famine through his son Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery and his family thought him to be dead but he rose up as the #2 leader in all of Egypt the most powerful nation of that time because he was faithful with where God had him.

I am going to be a little vulnerable and honest with where I am at. I love my job and where God has me but there are things I do that I know aren't my "sweet spot." Joseph's sweet spot was obviously in leading people in an organized way. He was wise and discerning and God used all his strengths and he seemed to love all that he did. But he did not start that way. I coach young people all the time on reaching their dreams or "sweet spot" in life. I always tell them be faithful with where God has you now and you will arrive to that place one day. It is a good reminder for me that I must be faithful with where God has me and do it to the best of my ability. So when the day comes for me to be in that "sweet spot" God is preparing me for I am ready to take it and accomplish it. It is my goal to be faithful to be fruitful as Joseph was.

Hump day

Today is hump day of my first week in the 90 day challenge. It is normally the toughest day but today actually was my easiest day.

Genesis is teaching me a lot about patience and submission. It is all over the book. Today I read about Joseph and the promises God gave him. I identify a lot with Joseph as he is a man with a vision and a word from God who doesn't get it right away in fact he takes many steps back. I feel the same. I know God has given me a clear vision for my family and ministry. Neither have arrived but I know in Gods timing they will happen and I don't want to rush that.

The workout was fun today. It felt like an old basketball workout which brought back lots of great memories. I feel great. Heading towards the end of the first week I feel great!

Day 2

Made it through the burn. Today was cardio and I did well. Feel good but today's entry will be short as it's getting late.

I read Genesis 17-28:19. Learned a lot about the blessings of God. We need to be greatful for what God has given us. Boy am I grateful. He has provided me with a beautiful wife and 2 awesome kids. I am so blessed and I can't complain about some of the short comings my life brings.

Day 1

One word: Brutal.

I read Genesis 1-16 from youversion's 90 day plan. It was very revealing to how God works. The theme throughout was submission. That is something I must do to succeed not only during these 90 days but in life. This 90 journey is called no slackers allowed. To rebel is to slack. If I rebel against the plan I fail. If I rebel against Gods plan then it is worse as I miss out on his perfect plan for me and I tell him I know better. I do not want to tell God I know better. I learned throughout the story of Abraham that when he didn't submit to God it did not go very well. God still worked but Abraham suffered. God even told Hagar who was being mistreated to submit. Not. Good. To be honest though I think it's less about submission and more about trust. Do you trust God enough to submit to him?

...Brutal

Food was tough today as I cut way back and felt hungry most of the day but I pushed through and did well but it was

...Brutal

As I was journaling today I had the overwhelming sense of Gods love and I thought my love for others is very inadequate for how much God loves me. But when I was given the opportunity to show love and Grace to someone at a store I reacted the opposite...not good

Finally P90X. It was tough not gonna lie. But I made it through. Core synergetics. It was one of the toughest workouts with no weights I have ever had but I made it through day one. Good thing I only do that particular workout once a week...but it was

....Brutal

Now to shower and wind down and get ready for Day 2...

90 Days

I will soon be going through a 90 day program to get healthy physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

I am going to do 90 days of workout and diet program (P90X), I will read through the Bible in 90 days (youversion.com) and I will be journaling for 90 straight days. I will also blog my experiences everyday as well.

I felt convicted that I am a slacker in many areas. Although I exercise and spend time with God neither is what I want it to be. I want to push myself and grow. I want to create habits in my life that help me grow. I know that Jesus came to abolish the law so we have freedom but He also doesn't want us to abuse that freedom. I feel like too many times I abuse that freedom so I am going into a no slacker program.

Right now my boys Robert Larsen and Joshua Conn are joining me in this journey because I need accountability.

one on one discipleship coaching

Probably my favorite part of coaching basketball was practice. Practice is where it all happened. We loved the saying, "Perfect practice makes perfect." So practice was intense. We put players through the ringer when it came to skill, fitness, and their mental toughness. We summed this up as Character. We had a distinct plan for players when it came to drills that we would put players through day after day. We wanted to push them to their limit and then push more. We would run them until they were tired and then run them some more. Then as coaches we would play with their minds by making them think that they had completed a drill successfully and then throw them off by changing the rules or something. We would push and push and push as we knew that those drills decided games that hadn't been played. We wanted our team to be prepared for tough situations in games and have the character to push through and win.

I think that God sees life in the same way. He knows that tough times are going to come and the question is do we have the character it takes to push through? This is why I believe James tell us this:

James 1:2-4 says, "²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

As coaches we are developing the character of those we are coaching. So as a coach I encourage you to push the person you are coaching. Push them beyond where they think that they can go. I can guarantee you that at some point in your coaching relationship you, the person you are coaching, or both of you will go through a significant life trial. It is what you do with that situation that will mark you as a coach and mark that person. Are they prepared? Have you prepared them? The coaching relationships are designed to help develop a person's character so that when they go through a tough time they can persevere and be mature and complete.